On Saturday, The New England Patriots released the third episode of “Do Your Job”, a team produced four-part documentary series that provides a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of the team.

“Go beyond the field and enter the world of Football Operations. In this third installment, we give you a behind the scenes look at how the 2018 New England Patriots were built and how the scouting department is already looking ahead to 2019. “

Episode three, narrated by special teams captain Matthew Slater, focuses in on the Patriots scouting department and their work during the 2018 NFL Draft and beyond.

Heading into Sunday’s match-up against the Chargers, the Patriots find themselves in somewhat of a unique situation compared to past seasons.

Normally, by this time of the year, most fans typically have had a good idea of what kind of team New England is heading into the postseason.

This season? Not so much.

In the past, the Patriots have traditionally started their postseason charge armed with a strong December run as the team has typically settled in and started stringing together some strong performances by playing their best football. They’re usually clicking on all cylinders and showing they’re capable of beating anyone, with Bill Belichick’s group usually coming into form and leaving behind whatever early-season flaws they might have shown while getting stronger as the weeks went on.

But that hasn’t happened this season. Instead, with a number one seed in play, New England lost 2 out of their final four games, both of which came on the road against the Dolphins and Steelers. The good news is, other playoff-bound teams also faltered down the stretch, helping them miraculously end up with the #2 seed despite an 11-5 record.

As a result, they found themselves with another bye and another home playoff game. Should the Colts win on Saturday out in Kansas City, the Patriots would then host the AFC Championship Game with a shot at going to Atlanta.

Business as usual, right?

It sure seems that way. However, the biggest difference with this season is, we really have no idea what’s going to happen this time around.

In the past, Tom Brady’s been playing at a championship level and the offense had usually figured things out at this point of the season. This year, that hasn’t been the case. They’ve been inconsistent at best and Brady’s had to make do with a hampered Rob Gronkowski, an inconsistent Chris Hogan, and an unusually drop-prone Julian Edelman, while also losing newcomer Josh Gordon to the same issues that plagued him previously before the Patriots took a chance on him. Critics have also started whispering about Brady, not realizing it’s been a variety of personnel problems that has kept the quarterback from putting up his normal totals.

Given all those problems, it’s been an unusual year offensively to say the least. They’ve been fortunate to have rookie Sony Michel have one of the best rushing seasons by a rookie in recent memory, which by the time this year is over could be one of the most important parts of the story they’re about to write. Michel’s production has quietly been one of the key parts of New England’s success, even though they’ve spent most of the year seemingly trying to figure things out week-to-week.

It’s been a tough year for Brady and the offense. (USA TODAY Images)

But otherwise, each week has been a mystery. We’ve had no idea whether they’d struggle to score, or if they’d spend the afternoon marching up and down the field at will.

They finished on a high note when the offense came alive against the Jets, with Brady throwing four touchdowns as New England put up 38 points. But that same woeful Jets group certainly didn’t seem to play with any urgency to close out their season and saw their coach get fired thanks to their abysmal 4-12 record. As a result, fans have no idea if the win was a sign of things to come, or if it was just the Patriots putting a beating on a bad football team.

On the other side of the football, the defense has actually been a bright spot over these final three regular season games. Despite the loss in Pittsburgh, New England’s defense held the Steelers to just 17 points, followed by 12 points to the Buffalo Bills and 3 points in the season finale against the Jets two weeks ago. They’ve also been forcing turnovers, totaling 8 takeaways over that same span. They forced and recovered 3 fumbles against the Jets, forced another fumble and recovery against the Bills along with 2 interceptions and also picked off Pittsburgh twice.

That’s how you can only hope the defense is playing at this time of year and it will likely be one of the biggest keys in determining how far they’ll go.

The defense has played well down the stretch. (USA TODAY Images)

Against the Chargers, it could go either way. Given their history against that football team and Philip Rivers, the logical belief would be that the Patriots will take care of business against a club they’ve previously had success against, especially in the postseason. They’re 2-0 in recent memory, beating them in the Divisional round in 2007 24-21 and then again in 2008 in the AFC Championship 21-12.

Obviously what happened 10 years ago won’t have anything to do with what happens on Sunday, but it generally sets the comfort level for those who know little about Rivers and Company, who quietly finished with a better record than New England. The Chargers finished the season at 12-4, winning five of their final six games, including beating Pittsburgh and Kansas City on the road. They’re also 7-1 on the road, with no fear of coming to New England and pulling off an upset.

As for the Patriots, they’re unbeaten at home this season and it’s where they’ve played their best football. At home, Brady’s completed 69% of his passes compared to a paltry 63% on the road. The defense has also looked completely different, looking championship-caliber in front of the home crowd at Gillette Stadium and shaky when they’ve been away from it.

But still, no one can really feel like they truly know how Sunday’s game will go. New England could go out there and look like they normally do in January, or this could be the year where they’re ripe for Rivers to finally get some redemption after being thwarted by this team for so many seasons.

We’d like to think we know how it will go down but even after 16 games, we still really have no idea.

That’s been the story during this long and unpredictable 2018 season and it remains the strange reality fans we’re all still faced with. Either way, we’ll find out the answer when it all begins on Sunday afternoon.

The award recognized Kraft’s philanthropy and commitment to combating anti-semitism.

The $1 million award, widely known as the “Jewish Nobel” prize, is granted each year to a person recognized as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values.

“I am honored to receive the Genesis Prize and thank the Genesis Prize Foundation for its recognition and willingness to direct my prize money to such worthy causes,” said Kraft. “It is important that we continue to support organizations that focus on combating prejudices by building bridges and uniting people of different backgrounds.”

“Since I met Mr. Kraft in 2009, he’s been such an important part of my life. He’s helped me develop as an athlete, as a Jewish person and as a friend. He always puts others first and this prestigious Genesis Prize couldn’t go to a better person” Edelman said in a photo caption.

Following an extra week of rest and preparation, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady can’t wait to face Phillip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.

Speaking on WEEI’s Mut and Callahan Morning show Monday, Brady had nothing but praise and admiration for the veteran quarterback.

“I don’t know him that well. I know a lot of guys that have played with him and they all say great things,” said Brady. “He’s a great leader, he’s a great passer of the football. He’s incredibly tough.”

However there was one moment that stuck out most about Rivers to Brady.

“I remember we played him in [2008],” Brady recalled. “I mean the guy played on a torn ACL, and we played in 10-degree weather and he was still firing dimes out there. This guy’s got all the confidence in the world, and it makes for a great matchup.”

Historically Rivers has had a tough go of it against Brady’s Patriots.

Brady holds a 7-0 advantage against Rivers lifetime along with a 2-0 record in the postseason. Rivers sole win against the New England Patriots came in 2008, but against Matt Cassel.

The head to head overall statistics also greatly contrast one another.

On Tuesday, sad news hit the football community when Purdue University student Tyler Trent passed away from a rare form of bone cancer. He was 20 years old.

Trent became a nationwide inspiration when his battle with osteosarcoma came to light following a 2017 story written about him and a friend camping outside Purdue’s football stadium just hours after a chemotherapy session.

Trent was an aspiring sportswriter at the university and formed a close knit relationship with the football program and head coach Jeff Brohm over the next two seasons.

“He didn’t really tell me his story then. It was a joy just to meet him a couple of minutes,” said Brohm. “But then you start to find out more about him, his story and what was really going on.”

The team began visiting Trent during his tough days, later naming him honorary team captain and crediting him for wins.

“What gave him a sense of love and purpose touched all of us and inspired all of us,” Brohm said. “There was no quit in him. There was a lot of fight in him. It’s like you couldn’t get him down. While I’m sure he was in pain and suffering, he put a smile on his face.”

https://twitter.com/JeffBrohm/status/1080316746836262912

Former Boilermaker and New England Patriots 2018 fifth round draft pick Ja’Whaun Bentley shared a series of heartfelt messages over social media following Trent’s passing.

Bentley was a four year starter at Purdue, graduating after the 2017 season.